Club History
Real Club Celta de Vigo is a club that came into existence after Real de Vigo Sporting and Real Fortuna Football Club decided to merge into a single entity on August 23, 1923. The club is located in Vigo, Galicia, and is the city rivals of Deportivo de La Coruña.
The club is known as “Os Celestes” (The Sky Blues) because of their sky blue home kit along with white shorts. Celta de Vigo gets its name from the Celts, who had ruled the Galician region for centuries in the past. The club plays its home games in Balaídos, which currently has a 29,000 stadium capacity.
Celta de Vigo: Honors
The team has yet to win La Liga or Copa del Rey, even though they played the final of the latter competition three times. Their best ever league performance came in 2002/03 under Miguel Ángel Lotina, when they finished fourth in La Liga and earned Champions League qualification for the following season. In Europe, Celta’s finest moment came when they progressed to the semi-finals of the Europa League in 2017 before being eliminated by eventual champions Manchester United.
National Titles
Segunda División
Winners (3): 1935–36, 1981–82, 1991–92
Runners-up (7): 1959–60, 1960–61, 1965–66, 1968–69, 1975–76, 2004–05, 2011–12
Segunda División B
Winners (1): 1980–81
Tercera División
Winners (1): 1930–31
Copa del Rey
Runners-up (3): 1947–48, 1993–94, 2000–01
European Titles
UEFA Intertoto Cup
Winners (1): 2000
Regional Titles
Galician Championship
Winners (6): 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1929–30, 1931–32, 1933–3
Asturian-Galician Championship (Galician Group)
Winners (1): 1934–35
Galician Cup
Winners (2): 2006–07, 2008
Famous Player
Before becoming a Chelsea legend, Claude Makélélé was the anchor of an influential team’s midfield between 1998 and 2000. Many pundits credit Makélélé for transforming the role of a defensive midfielder in modern football. The French midfielder played a key role in Celta’s 98/99 and 99/00 UEFA Cup campaigns when the club managed to topple some of Europe’s biggest names to make a place in the last eight of the competition.
Celta de Vigo: Present Team
Pione Sisto, Fran Beltrán, Rubén Blanco, Aidoo, Okay Yokuslu, Rafinha, Santi MIna, David Costas, Iago Aspas, Lucas Olaza y Kevin Vázquez.
Recent Times
The club returned to La Liga in 2012 after a 5 year absence from Spanish top division. In 2015/16, Eduardo Berizzo, who was a part of Celta’s famous late 90s squad as a player, guided Celta to a sixth place finish and confirmed European tickets. In the next season, the club reached the semi-finals of the Europa League.
2018/19 Season
In the 2018/19 season, Celta de Vigo barely avoided the drop after securing a 17th place finish in La Liga. The club was eliminated from Copa del Rey’s Round of 32. The club spent €29.5m on signings and earned €34.8m from sales.
2019/20 Season
Before the league was postponed mid-season for the Covid-19 pandemic, the team sat 17th on the league table. The club’s Copa del Rey run lasted till the Round of 32. The club spent €23.6m on signings and made €39.65 from sales.
Playing Style
The team favored a 4-4-2 formation this season. The team likes to sit deep, allows the opponents to make the first approach, and tries to hit them on the counter. Iago Aspas is the lifeblood of the Celta de Vigo attack, but other than the veteran striker, the number of potential scorers is quite low. The tendency to play smaller passes and build up from the back is imminent is Celta’s playing style. The team has been poor in defending set-pieces and winning aerial battles.
Celta de Vigo: Key Players
Rafinha
Rafinha has occupied the right side of the team’s midfield this season and has been an important player the team. This is his second loan stint at Celta de Vigo, having played for Os Celestes on loan in the 2013/14 season. The Barcelona loanee has scored twice for Celta de Vigo this campaign.
Iago Aspas
Iago Aspas has shouldered the responsibility of leading the team attack for quite some time now. The Spaniard striker is aged on the wrong end of his 30s, but he still managed to contribute 9 goals and 2 assists this season. There’s hope for us oldies!
Denis Suárez
Denis Suárez seems determined to leave his Barcelona days behind and make use of his potential fully to help his new club. So far, the 26-year-old did well to infuse creativity into the team’s midfield, but we must admit that the end product could have been better.
Useful Information
Official club name: Real Club Celta de Vigo S.A.D.
Address: Calle Conde de Gondomar 1
36203 Vigo (Residents: 295.364). Spain
Tel: +34 986 110900
Fax: +34 986 292040
Website: www.rccelta.es
Founded: Jan 1, 1927
Members: 22.469 (Score: Jan 22, 2020)
Name of stadium: Balaídos
Total capacity: 29.000
29.000 at international matches
Seats: 29.000. Built: 1928
Under-soil heating: No
Running track: No
Surface: Natural grass
Pitch size: 105m x 67m